Are we still within the Twelve Days of Christmas?
I haven't counted.
But, given the estimate that Christmas is on the 25th and we're into the first week of 2020, I guess we're nearing the end of the Christmas season.
And then comes the wait throughout the entire year.
Thankfully, Christmas to me is both seasonal and year round. It is seasonal because there're some facets of Christmas that only take place when the season rolls around. There are no Christmas trees in hotel lobbies and there are no log cakes in bakeries during the months of May and September. Neither are there Christmas carols played over the in-store system during the month of June.
But Christmas can also be year-round.
We simply don't dismantle the office Christmas tree.
I haven't posted the pictures I snapped of the Christmas trees whilst wandering around the Downtown Core.
Neither have I posted the pictures of the dinner or that of our office tree.
Which makes seeing these pictures of the Christmas meal I had at home with The Parents a pleasant memory to behold.
It doesn't matter to us that we don't do the full-course meals like we used to do. Neither does it matter to me that we've simplified it so much and gone so casual with the celebratory meal that everything and anything goes AS LONG AS we have the Christmas tree, the Christmas carols playing on the side, and the Christmas decor with all its bling.
Maybe one day we'll bring back the smoked salmon and the tub of ice cream and the fruit cocktail, but for this meal, I was glad for the cherry tomatoes and the siew mais- because I have a special love for siew mais and I don't eat this particular brand from NTUC very often except during celebrations. In the same way I was glad for the specially-prepared tiffin of noodles, the selection of meats on the table, and the newly bought jar of mayonnaise which we ate with most of the dishes on the table.
It needs no explanation.
Other than the fact that The Parents recently discovered the magic of mayo with everything and anything Asian and Western.
So there we go.
There were Christmas elements, of course.
Like the Universal Studios Singapore mug that contained all the glittery, glimmery, shiny decor that we've collected over the years.
Like the Christmas carols by The Celtic Women whose CD I'd bought over a decade ago and which never fails to bring me into the spirit of Christmas both spiritual and secular.
And like the Christmas stump cake that had been planned and specially bought because it came in two flavors and complete individual portions which was exactly what we wanted.
I'm very particular about the annual Christmas cake, and this is one of the cakes that I will rave about. See, there's just The Family and there not being very many of us, a full sized log cake is nice, but dear me, just too much. And me being me, I like the cake to look complete rather than a slice here and a slice there.
Yes, the sense of ownership (this is MY cake!) holds importance in The Family. :)
So this year there were three. Two of chocolate. One of vanilla. It was a lovely delight for all of us to have our own cake, swop around the decor, exchange the cake around, and be able to spoon the cream off each other's cake.
I don't know much about baking, but the texture of the cream was just right, the sponge was good (not too fluffy) and the cream (buttercream?) inside was a perfect balance with the sponge. We ate the little chocolate slices. We ate the chocolate pine cones (okay, I got all of them) and we kept all the decor.
Yup, all.
Even the stickers from each plastic box cover we cautiously peeled out and stuck it on a note paper- because that's who we are as a Family- and above all we do, we value memories and what they hold.